Mexican Folklore dances, a saint puppet parade and a string orchestra are just a few of the events that took place at Saint Michael School in Orland Park for its 2nd Annual Catholic Schools Week Celebration.Saint Michael School hosted eight different schools the last week in January as part of the national Catholic Schools Week campaign, which celebrates the value Catholic education provides and its contributions to the church and community.The visiting schools included; Saint Gall, Saint Michael South Shore, Children of Peace, Saint Richard, Saint Angela, Saint Sabina, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and Saint Nicholas of Tolentine. With the help of Tom Zbierski, Senior Director, Scholarship Programs and School Relations, of the Big Shoulders Fund and the Saint Michael Catholic Schools Week committee, the children from all the schools, ranging from preschool through eighth grade, participated in group activities, ate lunch together and formed new friendships. The students were able to share their different the cultures during their visits. St. Michael South Shore and St. Richards performed Mexican Folklore Dances. St. Richard’s focused on celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Children of Peace choir, many whom are deaf and use sign language, performed for the St. Michael students; while St. Nicholas of Tolentine brought their string orchestra and choir to join the St. Michael choir in performing at a special ensemble for the Catholic Schools Week mass. St. Nicholas provides music lessons for its students at no cost on campus and all of their instruments are donated to the school. “The purpose of sharing this special week with other schools is to show students that even though they come from different places, have different cultural upbringings and belong to different communities, being Catholic is something they all have in common,” explained Jennifer Beeson, head of the Catholic Schools week committee and Saint Michael parent. “Their faith is one thing that makes them all the same.” Activities included creating communion and confirmation banners, saint puppet projects and parade, packing lunches for port ministries of the archdiocese, crafting saint figures and prayer services. Saint Michael ministers, Father Paul and Father Jack also participated in many of these activities. The school also hosted a special guest speaker, Kerry Lynch, author of the My Mary Cate blog. She spoke with the students about looking different, acceptance and the importance of being kind to others. “It's cool to know kids from different schools aren't really all that different from us,” said Annie Stachnik, Saint Michael seventh grader. “My friend Katie and I met this really cool girl, Adriana, from St. Gall. She was really nice and funny and we had a lot in common.”For more information regarding Saint Michael School, please call (708)349-0068 or go to www.saintmike.org.